style of Greek literature

In ancient Greece an early distinction was made between the poetry chanted by a choir of singers (
choral lyrics) and the song that expressed the sentiments of a single poet. The latter, the
melos, or song proper, had reached a height of technical perfection in “the Isles of Greece, where burning Sappho loved and sung,” as early as the 7th century
bc. That poetess, together...

Choral lyric was associated with the Dorian parts of the Greek mainland and the settlements in Sicily and south Italy, whereas poetry for solo performance was a product of the Ionian coast and the Aegean Islands. Thus choral song came to be conventionally written in a Doric dialect.

use of Doric dialect

The artificial dialect of literary
choral lyric is Doric interspersed with Ionic epic and some Lesbian poetry. Its first poet was Eumelus of Corinth (8th century
bc). The type of Doric used by Alcman (fl. late 7th century
bc) is very similar to his Laconian vernacular (Laconia is the area around Sparta). From the time of Simonides of Ceos and Pindar (
c. 500
bc) onward, many Doric...

work of Stesichorus

Greek poet known for his distinctive
choral lyric verse on epic themes. His name was originally Teisias, according to the Byzantine lexicon
Suda (10th century
ad). Stesichorus, which in Greek means “instructor of choruses,” was a byname derived from his professional activity, which he practiced especially in Himera, a town on the northern coast of Sicily.